Noon - 1:00 PM
Session A:
DH3: Networks vs. Cable/Satellite vs. Internet vs. Games vs. Mobile - Irreversible Fragmentation or Massive Market Expansion
Contrary to popular believe, the competition for consumer attention is more likely to be a collaboration and extension of partnerships then it will be a war of industries. Consumers may at first be confused by all the entertainment offerings, but in the end, consumer loyalty will be more analogous to making the difficult choice from among favorite deserts then choices of lifestyle. Each of the entertainment industries is expanding. The video game industry is about to explode - again. DTV via cable and satellite, broadband via PC or set-top box is gaining important market share, handhelds are everywhere, the box office continues to roll and even the TV networks, while under severe pressure, are still the only way to reach a massive audience 24/7. The concept of fragmentation in an expanding universe of entertainment services is called excellent positioning for the future.
Neville Wheeler, Senior Manager Strategic Alliances Group, Cisco Systems
Ryan M. Jones, Analyst, Media and Entertainment Strategies, The Yankee Group
Keith McCurdy, Technology/Entertainment Industry Consultant
Tim Hanlon, VP/Director, Emerging Contacts, Starcom MediaVest Group
Christopher M. Di Cesare, Group Product Manager, Xbox and Online Games, Microsoft Corp.
Erick Hachenburg, General Manager, EA.com
Bill Niemeyer, founder, Centrimedia, Moderator
Neville Wheeler is a Senior Manager in Cisco Systems’ Strategic Alliances Group. In this role Neville is responsible for the global business strategy for Media & Entertainment. This involves working closely with the major media companies as well as the main vendors who work in this market. Previously, Neville was the Global Lead – Media and Entertainment, for Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group. Most recently Neville was Managing Director EMEA for SightPath, (acquired by Cisco) a US based company transforming the Internet into an effective distribution channel for media content distribution, aimed at Telecommunications carriers and large corporates. SightPath's solution brings rich media content, live and on-demand to the desktop, including TV quality video. Before SightPath, Neville was General Manager of Fujitsu Europe Limited, the sales, marketing and technical support arm of global giant Fujitsu IT. Prior to that Neville was Managing Director of MultiLink Europe Limited, a subsidiary of PictureTel, and a leader in, audio/video conferencing and multimedia technology for Telecommunications carriers and large corporates. Neville’s work history includes Managing Director roles at: NetGuard UK Ltd., a company specialising in Internet Firewall and Bandwidth Management software products; and LanOptics PLC, a manufacturer of Network Switching products, and sales and support roles for Data Switch Inc., IBM mainframe switching specialist and Harris Systems Corporation, a Super Computer manufacturer. Neville has over 20 years experience in the Communications industry and a strong IT technical engineering background; he holds a DMS and MBA from the Henley Management College.
Keith McCurdy has had a 15-year career in the interactive and multi-media industry and has held executive positions at industry leading companies as well as been the CEO of an Internet start-up backed by blue chip investors. Mr. McCurdy currently consults to leading Interactive Entertainment, Internet, and Wireless companies on general management issues, product strategies, and technology direction. Most recently, Mr. McCurdy was the CEO of Experts-Exchange, a venture backed Internet start-up in the enterprise knowledge collaboration field. Experts-Exchange was the largest collaborative community of professionals on the Internet with over 600k registered members and a customer list that included GE Capital, Oracle, AltaVista, and IDG. Prior to this experience, Mr. McCurdy was a 10-year veteran of Electronic Arts (EA), the world's largest interactive software company. During his career at EA he held a number of positions, including Vice President of Product Development, Vice President of Technology, CTO of Online, and Director of the Advanced Technology Group. Mr. McCurdy founded EA's Online Division, led the company's strategy and technology effort onto the Internet, and led the team that built the first successful online business for the company and the industry as a whole (over $45 million in online revenues in the first two years). As Vice President of Technology, Mr. McCurdy played key roles in re-organizing large product development organizations, led the creation of multiple new teams and projects within the company, and led product teams that generated over $250 million in revenue. Mr. McCurdy is also a Board of Directors member of both Rebel Arts, Inc. (an online game infrastructure company) and Yummy Interactive, Inc. (a broadband application streaming company).
Erick Hachenburg, General Manager, EA.com: Mr. Hachenburg assumed the role of General Manager of EA.com in June 2001, after serving as CEO of pogo.com for three years. Mr. Hachenburg possesses a powerful mix of technology and legal expertise. Prior to joining pogo.com, Mr.Hachenburg spent six years at Fenwick & West, one of the technology industry's leading legal firms. There he specialized in providing intellectual property, corporate and technology, and content licensing counsel for companies including Electronic Arts, Intuit and Macromedia. He holds a doctor of jurisprudence from Harvard Law School and bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, with an emphasis on computers, software and communications, from the University of Illinois.
Christopher M. Di Cesare, Group Product Manager, Xbox and Online Games: Chris Di Cesare has ten years of experience in strategic marketing and planning within the online entertainment and games sector. With Microsoft since 1995, Chris has been actively involved in the marketing and product development of Microsoft's most successful PC and MSN Zone.com game titles and has recently expanded his responsibility to include Xbox, where he will oversee development of core, first party games. Also responsible for the conception and development of OutSmart, Zone.com's flagship celebrity trivia game, Chris has successfully guided Zone.com to a more strategic advertising and revenue-focused business model with record-breaking reach. Chris holds a BA in political science from Villanova University and an MBA in marketing from George Washington University.
Ryan Jones is an analyst with the Yankee Group’s Media & Entertainment Strategies Planning Service. Mr. Jones’ responsibilities include research and analysis of converging media and entertainment products and services among consumers. This includes topics such as consumer electronics, digital video and audio, online music and video/audio broadcasting. His areas of expertise have been applied in research spanning the media value chain including consumer adoption, retailer strategies, device manufacturer strategies, and chipset vendor strategies. Mr. Jones has been recognized as an industry expert for digital media applications and devices. His contributions to the industry include speaking at conferences held by the National Association of Broadcasters, Consumer Electronics Association, and the Satellite Broadcasters and Communications Association. Further, he is a frequently quoted expert in publications including Multichannel News, The Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek. Before joining the Yankee Group, Jones served as program director of WFRD Broadcasting. He also brings experience from the marketing industry garnered from his time at McCann-Erickson New York, and from launching a private marketing consultancy. Ryan Jones received a BA in psychology from Dartmouth College with a minor concentration in electrical engineering.
Tim Hanlon is Vice President/Director, Emerging Contacts for Starcom MediaVest Group, a global media services unit of Publicis Groupe, S.A. He is chiefly responsible for all US client activity and agency initiatives in the field of emerging media technologies, including the firm’s ground-breaking TV 2.0 Practice, centered around evolutionary television platforms such as interactive/enhanced television, video-on-demand, personal video recording, interactive program guide navigation, addressable advertising, and digital broadcasting/datacasting. Hanlon has over a decade of traditional and interactive agency media experience including roles as Director, Strategy & Business Development for the Digital Marketing Group of Chicago-based marketing services agency Frankel & Company, and Director of Interactive Media at Creative Alliance in Louisville, KY. He also served as Advertising Media Manager for the in-house agency of credit card issuer MBNA America in Wilmington, DE. Hanlon also has wide-ranging journalism experience, including production and writing stints at CBS News, Sports Illustrated and the Voice of America. Hanlon holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University.
Bill Niemeyer is the founder of Centrimedia (http://www.centrimedia.com/), an information and analysis resource for the new TV technologies including ITV, ETV, VOD and PVR. Centrimedia's mission is to provide ITV / ETV market participants with high-value information, analysis and insights to assist them in making critical tactical and strategic decisions in this fast-changing market. The emphasis is how business models will evolve and emerge to respond to the new technology and content potentials. It provides this via the Niemeyer Review free weekly email newsletter and other services. Bill was formerly Director of Strategic Development for Spiderdance, a leading provider of infrastructure and technology to broadcast and cable networks for creating, running and managing interactive TV programming. Spiderdance developed and deployed five groundbreaking and award winning ITV series for TV networks during Bill's time there including "Weakest Link" for NBC and "webRIOT" for MTV. Bill has been in the interactive industry since 1991, working in areas including corporate web and multimedia development, CD-ROM games and 3D virtual world technologies. His clients have included Apple, Sears, NTT, IBM, HP, Mondo Media and blaxxun. Bill is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and a member of the ATAS Editorial Committee, which is responsible for oversight of the academy web site and Emmy magazine.